


Stormy Night

by Hoodie2



Series: Maybe He Isn't That Bad [1]
Category: 3Below, Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Home is where the core is, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mr Johnson the prick, Pizza, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, learned helplessness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22010530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hoodie2/pseuds/Hoodie2
Summary: An evening of traumas and wishings yet neither will say it nor can they.
Relationships: Seamus Johnson/Krel Tarron
Series: Maybe He Isn't That Bad [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584346
Comments: 5
Kudos: 67





	Stormy Night

Thunder had been rolling around with a lazy promise since noon, it hadn’t been raining though. The man of weather said that rain would fall later in the evening. Though a look to the menacing clouds would make one worry for rain to fall sooner.

One did not worry, however, in fact he tsked with annoyance.  
A grocery bag held protectively to his chest, headphones playing a techno-trance mix into his ears, Krel walked briskly on the sidewalk.  
He did not have much experience with Earth’s weather patterns besides the blazing and merciless sun. What minimal amount of rain he had seen wasn’t all too terrible, it was quite the opposite in fact.

Rain made Mothership feel cozy that he didn’t feel the need to hide in Mother’s inner compartments tinkering with one project or another, he merely did that in the “living room” of the main house.  
The light pitter patter of the sky water hitting the roof playful mixing with the wall clock’s droning tick tock, Krel could lose himself in a comfort he rarely found.  
Thunder? Thunder was another story entirely. The abrupt roar of whatever god the humans believed in disrupting the peace. Krel couldn’t stand it. He understood that it was merely the delayed noise succeeding angry bolts of lightning, it didn’t put him less on edge. The Akiridion prince simply did not like it.  
Even worse now that it was just him and the Blanks residing in Mothership since Aja returned to Akiridion 5 with Zadra and Varvatos Vex. There would be no one else to distract him from planet Earth’s harsher weather.

The Blanks -Rick and Lucy- may entertain, but in recent days the robotic servants had taken to the human custom of courting each other. While it was cute to observe it sometimes did get to be a bit much for the prince. He usually found himself attempting to program any aspect of Mother’s original hardware during these times, so far Krel’s progress led to creating a new A.I. he has dubbed “Momma.”  
There was also Stuart, yet as much as Krel appreciated everything the Durian had done for him, his sister, and their people, he just wasn’t someone Krel wanted over for company. Partially because of his natural odor mixed with taco meat and refried beans. There was only so much of it he could stand.

But nonetheless, Krel could figure out some diversion. Maybe creating a new mix would be a good start since Mary had been pushing him into DJing for some of her parties. An evening meal might also be a good idea in case Rick and Lucy decide to take their courting elsewhere.  
“I suppose I could do more testing with Momma.” The Akiridion murmured to himself as he pulled his headphones down to rest around his neck, humming to himself along with the rhythm still playing loud enough to hear. He looked down into the bag in his arms. Inside the brown paper bag was two bottles of some green “sports drink” and three differently flavored packages of wavy pasta labelled RAMEN. Krel squinted down at the items. Didn’t he also buy a candy bar?

Wham!

A wall came out of nowhere and he walked right into it, or more rather it walked into him. The concrete not making the most comfortable landing cushion and his groceries spilling from the bag, it did nothing but add to his impending irritation. Before Krel could spit out anything vile with some creative wording he had learned from Toby a hand was being offered to him.

“I’m so sorry, Tarron.” A familiar voice apologized hastily. “I didn’t mean to run you over.”  
Krel followed the limb to its source, the frown on his face changing to confusion, seeing the strawberry blonde that hung around Steve when the oaf wasn’t drooling over his sister. Seamus Johnson stared down at him with worry.

Strange.

The prince accepted the human’s help, taking ahold of his calloused hand and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. “Accidents happen, but thank you.” Krel exchanged a small handshake with his classmate before taking back his hand. A roll of thunder rumbled in the distance causing him to square his shoulders tensely, Krel started gathering up his things and putting them back in the paper bag. “I thought you left for your space camp.” He inquired without thought. “Wouldn’t such summer facilities last much longer than-” his head tossed from side to side in calculation “-three weeks?”  
Seamus kneeled down, picking up one of the sports drinks that rolled by his feet, a weak chuckle left his throat. “Yea…” He drawled, handing over the bottle, not meeting Krel’s eyes. “I didn’t go,” Krel narrowed his eyes at the blonde, his hand on the offered bottle but not taking it, confusion mixing with insult. “Change of plans.” The taller teen added quickly. “I ended up camping with my uncle instead.” 

“Huh.” Krel took the bottle from the other’s lax grip and set it carefully in his bag beside the other bottle. A tick of irritation flicked through his mind.

Had I really held back for nothing?

They both rose from the sidewalk an awkward silence following as Krel clutching the bag to his chest again. The Akiridion readjusted his headphones around his neck to distract himself.  
Another roll of thunder caused the prince to tense up again, casting an annoyed look at the threatening clouds.  
“As good as it is to see you again, Johnson,” he spoke quickly, forcing himself not to grit his teeth. “I am expected to be home soon.” The Akiridion began maneuvering around the athletic teen.

Seamus twisted around, catching his arm gently. “Tarron,” he addressed the prince just as kindly. “Are you alright?” His brows knit together with concern.

Krel turned to face him but his eyes focused on anything but the blonde, he just wanted to get home quickly. “Perfectly fine, thank you.” He moved his arm out of Seamus’ grip, walking away and the other boy let him go this time.

Seamus looked down to the sidewalk, biting the inside of his cheek in thought, then, raised his head up to look at Krel’s retreating form with a decision in mind. “Hey, Tarron.” He called, pivoting on the heels of his feet and jogged the short distance to catch up to the shorter teen. “Hold up.”

“Hold what up?” The prince turned to face Seamus again, a bit more frustration mixing in his expression. His feet shuffled anxiously against the cement This time seeing the fit teen approach, Krel noticed he was in casual athletic clothing that showed off more than the school’s athletic wear did.  
Much more flattering for sure, yet still didn’t ease his irritation.

A smirk tugged at the blonde’s lips as he came to a stop in front of him. The way Krel spoke was something that amused him. “Just another way of saying “wait.” He explained before dismissing it with a wave of his hand. “But, um, I guess I missed a bunch of “stuff” in Arcadia while I was with my uncle,” Seamus began a little awkwardly. “Steve has been trying to catch me up on it but that was mostly physical gestures and obnoxious sounds, so, ah, I thought perhaps you could fill in the blanks.”

The color drained from his face, the Akiridion’s eyes fell from Seamus’ as a grimace took place. “Those events may have been much excitement to Steve and the others but for Aja and I,” Krel raised his eyes again with an emotion that did not suit him and scared Seamus. “It was nothing but pain in one form or another. Perhaps a later day when the subject is not so raw.”

Seamus’ own expression fell, he took a step back. “I… I didn’t mean to-”

“I know.” Krel interrupted raising a hand to silence him. “If that is all then, I shall see you another time.” He walked away again from the blonde and was left to his business this time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rain had fallen steadily on the roof and could be heard from within the inner sanctum of Mothership as Krel worked more on Mama’s programming. Rumbling thunder was dulled by the thick walls of the ship and better yet no flashes of lightning. The prince was content in his Akiridion form focusing on his work with some light jazz music playing quietly around him.

“How is this Momma?” Krel asked as he tweaked something on the monitor.

Lights dimmed and brightened in the chamber and in the hall connected to it, startled sounds from Rick and Lucy upstairs could be heard.  
“My goodness!” The prince heard Rick exclaim with enthusiasm. “This isn’t very nice now is it?”

Krel couldn’t stop a small chuckle at the Blank’s programmed mannerism.  
“Everything appears well and functional, my royal.” Momma answered after returning the lights to their original level. He nodded in approval, waving away the monitor and grabbing the half empty bottle of green liquid then taking a drink.

“Well that seems to be everything I need to do tonight.” Krel spoke to no one particular as he stretched out his arms. “I suppose I could make something to eat then on to mix making.” He laced his fingers together at the back of his head, leaving the subterranean chamber.  
Jazz music followed him in his exit and through the fluorescent lit hall. One of the prince’s free hands following a conductors directive movements with the beat of the music, his head bobbing pleasantly along as well.

He stepped through the door behind the fireplace as the doorbell chimed.  
From the sofa, Rick and Lucy looked to the front door from a “romantic” gesture of one feeding the other chocolate covered strawberries, something that Krel doesn’t think they understand judging by how much chocolate was smeared on Rick’s face.  
Lucy quickly rose from her seat, almost kicking the coffee table with her hazardly movements, straightening her skirt and making sure her hair was decent as she approached the interruption of her date. “I wonder who that could be?” Krel could imagine the maniac smile she always wore scaring the poor person outside.

“Is there a gentleman caller I don’t know about Lucy?” Rick joked as he wiped away the melted chocolate with a napkin. The other Blank giggled and waved him off.

Krel rolled his eyes at the pair good humoredly as he made his way to the kitchenette, partially listening as Lucy cheerfully greeted whoever was on the other side of the door. He was placing the bottled drink on a shelf in the fridge when he was addressed by the Blank.

“Krel, you have a guest.”

The prince cringed a bit at the unpleasant squishing sounds of rain soaked sneakers on the doormat as he turned to face the visitor. Who would be -or want to be- outside in this weather?  
Apparently, a drenched and sorry looking blonde that Krel saw earlier, holding a large flat box in his hands and a two liter bottle of some dark liquid under his arm, would be outside in such weather. The human’s eyes widened taking in Krel’s natural being.

“Are you out of your gourd?” Krel demanded as he rounded the counter, his two lower hands stretching out to take the box. “It is pouring out there.” The prince spared a glance at the ceiling. “Momma could you prep towels please.” The request was met with a clean white towel materializing on the table in the entryway.  
The wet blonde took a step back upon Krel’s approach stopping the prince in his tracks. The shock in Seamus’ eyes surprised Krel as much as Krel’s form surprised Seamus.

“Wow.” He uttered in an exhale as his brain caught up with what he was seeing. “When…” Seamus shifted the weight of the flat box to one hand and waving the other in a gesture to the Akiridion. “When Steve said you and Aja were a-” Krel quirked his brow, giving the blonde a sharp look. Seamus bit his tongue as he quickly rerouted his train of thought. “That, ah, you and Aja weren’t actually human, I wasn’t expecting, um…” His eyes dropped and rose again, looking over Krel’s body.

Krel’s sharp look eased into one of unimpressed. “Were you expecting something tiny, green, and horribly misshapen?” He asked, taking the awaiting towel from the table in one of his upper hands. “Or some, as you say, monstrous invader that appears in your “movies?”” He offered the towel to the other teen, his lower hands reaching for the box again.  
Seamus stared at the towel curiously for a moment before taking it from the Akiridion and handing over the box then the large bottle. The blonde draped the clean towel over his head, grabbing both ends, and dried his short locks as best he could.

“Do you require dry clothing?” The prince asked, strolling back to the kitchenette counter and placing the flat box along with the bottle of questionable liquid atop the counter. “It can be arranged if so.” He added partially turning to face the human, who was carefully removing his sneakers.  
“All measurements have been taken upon arrival.” Mama affirmed, startling the teen.

He quickly shook his head in answer, his facial features taking on a red hue. Had he walked here? Had he managed to get himself a fever? “No, no, that’s alright.” Seamus assured with a nervous smile. “It’s just my shoes, there was a large puddle on the sidewalk.” He left the towel on his head as he joined Krel at the counter.

The Akiridion squinted at him curiously. If he wasn’t walking -or running- in the rain, how did he get here? And why did he come? They may have been on good terms but Krel didn’t think that Seamus considered much more friendly actions than a distant greeting and idle conversation.  
“How did you get here, Seamus? And why?” Krel questioned with little tact, all four arms crossing over his chest and stomach.

Broad shoulders shook as a chuckle rattled from his throat sounding as nervous as he appeared. “I kinda borrowed my dad’s car.” He answered, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck - a nervous habit Krel noticed in human males when they weren’t being entirely honest. “And, well, I felt bad about earlier so… It is technically ‘another time,’ right?” His smile grew but didn’t become any more confident. The human growing increasingly tense under Krel’s suspicious stare up to the point where he couldn’t keep eye contact, pursing his lips as he ‘admired’ the entryway carpet.

“Well, Lucy,” Rick exclaimed from the living room as he rose from the sofa. “What do you say we give the kiddos some space?” The Blank jerked his thumb at the fireplace with a grin.  
Lucy clapped her hands together, nodding enthusiastically. “Excellent idea, honey.” She gathered up the mostly empty bowl of strawberries and liquid chocolate. “Can’t embarrass our little prince with our date night.” She giggled. Krel gave an eye roll at the tease. Seamus watched them, confused about what Rick was pointing at.  
When Lucy had their things gathered precariously but securely in her grip, the fireplace slid to the side revealing the door to the rest of Mothership allowing the two Blanks through. Rick leaned out of the bright doorway giving the two teen agers finger guns. “No trouble now boys.” The Blank winked and disappeared. The human’s jaw had blatantly dropped by the time the door was covered again. 

Seamus’ reaction was impressively more quiet than Steve’s or Eli’s yet more clear than Toby’s -but that boy lives with a large troll and has a bit more experience with less than the human norm- nonetheless Krel found himself amused by it. The prince kept his silence as he rounded the counter again into the kitchenette, reaching for the cupboard holding a pristine abundance of glassware. “So, what did you bring?” He asked to interrupt the silence as he took two glasses from the cupboard, casting the blonde a side glance.

It took a heartbeat before the human responded again, blinking first then pulling his eyes away from the fireplace. He ended up staring at the box listlessly as the question registered in his mind. Krel set the glasses on the counter in front of him.  
Seamus coughed into his fist - an attempt to stall, Krel figured - before spinning the flat box and lifting open the top. Inside was a circular food the prince had seen on a sign atop one of the shops surrounding the park. Pete-za, wasn’t it?  
“Saturdays are sort of my designated ‘pizza night.’” Seamus explained slowly, spinning the box around again. “Pepperoni and canadian bacon pizza, a two liter of coke, and,” a weak smile. “Math exercises assigned by my dad.”

Krel couldn’t help the grimace that tugged at his mouth, tipping his head curiously. “I’m not sure if I said this before, but your dad-” the prince turned around to retrieve plates from another cupboard, quickly thinking through his next words “-seems passionate, I suppose, about maths.” He set the plates on the counter carefully beside each empty glass as the blonde grabbed the large bottle and twisted off the cap.

“Heh, passionate would the nicer word for it.” Seamus replied as he poured the dark soda into one glass. “Obsessed would be the proper word I think.” His head bobbed in agreement with his own statement.

“Why is that exactly?” Krel asked. He rested his upper elbows on the countertop, leaning on them, as his lower arms returned to their crossed position over his stomach. 

Seamus didn’t answer at first, instead placing the half filled glass back from where his picked it up and grabbing the second glass to fill with the fizzing drink. “Well,” He began with a small shrug. “He does work in accounting, probably wants me to follow in his steps or something.” The blonde’s blue eyes watched the drink rise in the transparent glass almost hypnotically.  
“But you don’t want to.” Krel commented thoughtfully, bringing a hand to rest his chin in his palm. “I don’t blame you. It doesn’t sound all that entertaining.” Then the prince frowned before asking, “What is accounting?”

Seamus looked up from the glass giving a light chuckle when he met eyes with Krel, setting the bottle aside. “Accounting is mainly keeping track of financial and non-financial information for a company, typically, there’s a whole department accounting for the other branches of said company. “ He explained, pulling one of the plates closer and reaching into the pizza box. “I was brought in for a bring-your-kid-to-work day, it was really boring.” His head shook at the memory as he pulled a triangular slice from the pizza, stringy strips of cheese clinging to the slice, and placed it carefully on the plate. Krel watched as the human curled the cheese around his index finger until the strings broke from the rest of the greasy meal and dropping it on top of the lone slice. “I basically spent the whole day stealing paperclips and staples from the staplers in the cubicles around my dad’s and refilling his coffee mug nearly every forty-five minutes.”

The snort of laughter that came from Krel caught Seamus off guard but, after a moment, it put a more confident smile on the blonde’s face. The prince tried muffling himself, bowing his head to hide his uncharacteristic show of an emotion besides irritable boredom.  
When he looked up again, still attempting to hold back a few snickers. “So, um, why paperclips and staples?” He asked, readjusting his hand so his chin rested on his knuckles.

The human gave a light-hearted chuckle at the Akiridion’s attempt to keep his composure, pushing the pizza toward him before taking the empty plate. “Well, dad noticed I was making stars out of his own stash of paperclips and God forbid I have an interest in something outside of schoolwork.  
“So he sent me on the first round of coffee refills,” he explained, setting up a second slice of pizza on the plate. “I caught small glimpses inside the other cubicles and figured out they all kept cups of paperclips and staplers near the entrances of their cubicles. So, I bring dad his coffee and tell him I needed to use the bathroom, he didn’t even turn around to be sure I knew where it was.”  
The blonde, now moving his hands in vague animated gestures as he spoke, was laughing as he spoke, forgetting to take another piece of pizza from the box. Uncommon positive interactions creating a positive atmosphere.  
“I was just a bit spiteful when I took the staples but I snatched handfuls from four cubicles before returning to my dad’s and came up with the bright idea to staple my stars to the walls of his cubicle. He doesn’t even notice or care, I guess,” his shoulder rose and fell in another shrug. “This goes on for two or three more coffee runs, before I hear anyone saying anything.” Seamus leans forward intently, tapping the five pads of his fingers on the counter top, a seriousness in his tone. “I’ve invaded the cubicles closer to my dad’s and I have a small solar system of paperclips surrounding me by now -planets included. I hear one of dad’s coworkers asking for a couple of paperclips from one of his neighbors. I’m sitting there and just stare at my hoard of office supplies, a good portion of my collection stapled to the cubicle wall and the rest carefully placed around me.” He covers his mouth with his hand as his own snickering starts getting out of control, shaking his head. “I’m thinking ‘fuck, I’m screwed’ as three of dad’s coworkers peek in,” Krel released another snort. “None of them noticed me at first when they spoke to my dad. It was, I think her name was Jennifer, who saw my hoard and just started laughing.”

Seamus ended his story unable to restrain his laughter at his younger self, Krel finding himself laughing along contagiously.  
“I, ha… I have never seen that man so embarrassed.” He managed to say after a breath. Then he sighed, the merriment in his demeanor diminishing. “At least until recently.”

Krel’s expression fell, sympathetic and curious, he lifted his head off of his hand. “When I took your place at the top of Miss Janeth’s class.” Luminescent blue eyes dropped to the pizza slice in front of him. The prince stared at the slice quietly, noting the slight visible circles of meat beneath the thick layer of melted cheese and the drying sheen of grease as the piece cooled.  
“Why…” Krel looked back up to the teen across from him, who was setting a slice of pizza on his own plate. “Why didn’t you go to space camp?”

The blonde met Krel’s eyes only briefly, lips pressing into a thin line, his fingers tapping on the countertop. His mouth twitched after a moment, conflict obvious in his posture.  
The Akiridion waited patiently for his answer, picking up the pizza slice and taking a small bite from it.  
Perhaps he shouldn’t have asked, it was clear Seamus and his father had a strained relationship. From what Krel had seen of Mr. Johnson, the man was quite imposing and forward about his personal opinions, practically overbearing. Seamus’ thoughts matched his father at first until Krel purposefully lost the math deul for him. It must be difficult living under such a demanding parent.

“My dad, uh,” Seamus spoke up finally, keeping his gaze down. “I said something he didn’t agree with and he got mad, of course. So I wasn’t permitted to go after that.”  
A frown quickly took over Krel’s features as he eyed over the human’s form slumped carelessly over his dish. “But that wasn’t part of the terms of your deal.” He said sounding honestly angry. “And merely over something said? That’s ridiculous.” His lower hands gripped the glass of soda, thin fingers rubbed along the transparent surface as his hands tensed and relaxed.  
Seamus nodded, agreeing with him, the expression on the blonde’s face said he was used to the treatment. It didn’t settle well with the prince.  
“Yea, well,” The athletic teen stared down at his pizza with a lack of appetite. “Some parents are like that.” He picked up the slice and just held it in one hand. “But hey, I did get out of town for a little while still.” He shrugged then took a bite of the slice.

Krel was struck silent by that, by the other’s behavior. He couldn’t understand how Seamus be so calm about being unhappy. But he also couldn’t refute Seamus’ words when comparing his own Mama and Papa to Mr. Johnson. Where is Seamus’ mother? Surely the blonde didn’t just have one harsh parent if he was willing to be friendly with someone who said parent didn’t like without a more open-minded force of influence.  
The prince opened his mouth to speak his curiosities but bit his tongue as a massive clap of thunder rattled the house quickly followed by a brilliant flash of lightning that illuminated the house brighter than the lamps. Krel visibly jumped, his pizza falling onto the counter and his glass to the floor. The glass shattering startling Seamus while Krel remained immobile.

The human hurried around the counter, minding the broken glass, reaching out for the stiff Akiridion. “Are you okay?” He asked the humanoid that stared down at the mess spreading around their feet. 

No answer was given. The prince stared down at the shards of glass and spreading dark liquid frozen to his spot. Krel hated thunder. It was unpredictable, unwarranted, like Varvatos Vex’s rare moments of honest wisdom or that first moment after an explosion. And the lightning that blinded anyone afterwards flashing like warning lights in a landing gone horribly wrong. He could hear Seamus talking. He could feel Seamus’ touch. Yet, he couldn’t answer. He couldn’t move.

“My royal?” Krel heard Momma inquire, concern heard in the AI’s voice.  
His eyes flickered though, away from the mess to his hands all still in position as if they were holding the pizza and glass. Breathing becoming shallow and painful as Krel felt himself start shaking.

“Tarron.” Seamus spoke again, tightening his grip on one of the Akiridion’s arms he gently pulled Krel away from the mess. “C’mon Krel.” The blonde turned the prince to face him. “Back to reality, Krel, focus.” He snapped his fingers in the other’s face.  
First a blink then a few more before the Akiridion looked up to Seamus’ face, deep blue to fluorescent blue, slowly Krel’s shoulders relaxed. Seamus smiled at him, seeing Krel come back to reality, he backed up far enough to give the humanoid some space but kept a hand on his arm.  
“I- I…” Krel stammered his eyes falling to the mess of glass and soda, stepping out of the other’s reach. “I don’t know what happened. Momma towels and a broom please.” The prince shook his head as he kneeled to the floor, grabbing one of the towels that appeared on the counter.

Seamus watched him for a moment, processing what had happened. Sure, even he was startled by a thunderclap that loud, Seamus can admit that, but that's another story compared to how Krel just froze. Just what happened that made the guy so scared?  
The blonde kneeled down beside him, grabbing another towel. “Are you, um,” He began, thinking of how to phrase it in a way that won’t sound offensive. “Are you afraid of thunderstorms?” He dropped the towel over some glass shards in the puddle of soda, carefully watching the humanoid’s reaction.  
The prince’s reaction was more stiff than expected. But more annoyed than earlier that afternoon. Maybe it wasn’t me Krel was mad at, the blonde thought as Krel whipped around to scowl at him, eyes somehow seeming brighter than before the question.

“Nature is nothing to be afraid of.” Krel huffed, turning back to his darkening towel, his jaw clenching. “It is rather irritating though.” The towel squelched noisily as his blue hand gripped it tightly. “Messy, loud, grotesque, bothersome.” He raised a free hand to grab another towel from the counter, not even lifting his gaze.

A thoughtful hum resonated from the athletic teen, he carefully picked up one of the larger shards. Steve had said that Aja left with their ‘guardians’ and Eli yet Krel chose to stay behind with the robots. Curious.  
“Then why did you stay?” He asked innocently.

Krel remained quiet, his actions stilled. From the side, Seamus could see sadness in the way Krel’s mouth quivered in a fight to keep from falling and in the way his eyes fell further downcast with a regret in them.  
Seamus bit the inside of his cheek, regretting the question. “Sorry.” I murmured quickly. “Shouldn’t have asked.”

He watched as the prince swallowed thickly and stood. The blonde stared up at the prince’s proud face. “Momma, call Lucy up here about the mess please,” Krel requested politely. “And transport the food and drink to one of the lower rooms.”

“As you wish, my royal.” The house answered. When Seamus stood up he saw their pizza and his soda evaporate into bright blue particles. He looked to Krel with curiosity, but the humanoid ignored the look in favor of grabbing a fresh glass from the cupboard then strolling purposefully towards the fireplace that Rick and Lucy disappeared behind.

“Come along Johnson.” Krel ordered almost boredly.  
Seamus jumped as he was addressed but complied, making his way over to the living room as the fireplace slid to the side.  
Before the two could step into the bright blue vortex looking door, Lucy popped through with an intense look in her eye and a giggle. “Leave me a mess boys?” She asked good-naturedly as she wiped her chocolate covered hands in a napkin.

“Sorry Lucy.” Krel said softly sounding as apologetic as he looked. She waved him off cheerfully though, picking up the wet towels unbothered by the glass sticking to them.  
Krel stepped through the portal. Seamus followed, covering his eyes with how bright the door was.

The other side of the door, however, was nothing but light. It was like being inside of a glowstick. Soft blue pulsing through the wiring behind sleek transparent walls.  
Seamus’ jaw dropped again dumbfounded as he took in the new surroundings. Panels could be seen through the walls near the door, he vaguely wondered what function they controlled. The slow realization that he was actually on a spaceship dawning on him.  
Krel patted the human’s shoulder as he walked by, down the extensive hall, pulling him from his starstruck trance.

“Keep up.” Krel spoke with warning. “This place is a maze if you don’t know where you are going.” He gave a soft snort before adding. “You would not believe the number of times Steve, Eli, and Toby have gotten lost in here.”

Seamus stepped quickly to Krel’s side, a confident smirk on his face. “I’ve known Steve forever, I would believe it.” He replied with a chuckle. “Love the guy and all but he is the embodiment of a blonde joke.” The prince gave him an odd look that showed he didn’t understand. Seamus bit his lip trying to figure out how to explain an age-old joke that primarily stereotyped blondes of the female gender. “It’s a fairly offensive joke that make those with blonde hair out to be stupid - usually directed at or about girls.”  
He watched the other’s expression change from confusion to thoughtful then again to offended.

“Aja’s human form was blonde.” Krel stated with a low growl in his voice.

Seamus felt a shiver crawl up his spine at the sudden menacing demeanor the Akiridion had. “But, hey,” he narrowly stopped himself from placing a hand on the angry humanoid. “No one really uses those jokes anymore - well except from a few other blondes themselves.” The weak chuckle that came from him sounded just as forced as it was.  
The human stopped dead in his tracks as Krel’s glared turned on him.

“Are you sure?” The Akiridion demanded.

“Uh,” Seamus swallowed the lump in his throat. “For the most part. Yes.”

Glowing eyes narrowed at him for a moment. Then the prince continued walking leaving Seamus to chase after.  
“So, where are we going?” The blonde questioned gazing along the walls, trying to find signs of entryways or something out of place in the sleek interior.

“Somewhere where the storm won’t bother me as much.” The prince answered vaguely.  
They only walked a few steps farther after the answer before the wall opened on their left.

“Please don’t make a mess here.” Momma commented with a teasing note to her voice.

“Yes, Momma. Thank you.” Krel laughed softly as he proceeded into the open room. The room was dome shaped with a paler light to it than the hall, in the middle of it were two chairs hovering in wait and a table between them holding the pizza and soda.

“Same goes for you, Sir Johnson.” Seamus jumped at the AI addressing him.

“A-ah, of course, um..” He looked to Krel, unsure of how to handle a building/ship talking to him.

“You may call me Momma, as the others do.” She assured the human gently. He merely nodded in response.

The two boys each claimed one of the two chairs, Krel filling his clean glass and Seamus picking up his surprisingly still warm pizza. A more comfortable silence fell over the two, just filling the space with food consumption.  
Seamus looked around the room, the way the lighting was made it seem like the room went on for forever. A comforting solitude, he thought, as long as you aren't here for too long. He wondered about what Krel would work on this deep in the ship, what other kind of rooms there are. What Akiridion 5 was like. And Krel is a prince! Or king - Steve wasn’t very clear in his obnoxious storytelling - didn’t Krel have royal duties to tend to? Did he grow up in a palace or something more modern? How far advanced is the technology? Judging by just the ship, Earth has well over a millenia to catch up.

“May I offer an appropriate form of entertainment?” Momma asked.  
Krel looked over to Seamus with an expression that matched the spoken question. The blonde froze, caught off guard with his mouth full, stared back.

The humanoid chuckled at him, turning back to the room. “Yes, please.” He answered.  
The lights around the two suddenly died, flooding to room in pure black. No amount of blinking could adjust human eyes to literally nothing. Then slowly but surely lights started to appear, not to make the room any brighter rather than just to be there. It only took a few moments as the lights increased in number that Seamus realized the room had mimicked an observatory, he was looking at stars.  
“Whoa.” He uttered softly in astonishment. His eyes darted between the familiar constellations he had studied and their stories he had memorized.  
“Agreed.” Krel murmured sounding more relaxed than he had been most of the evening. “However different than the stars I grew up knowing, they still manage to stall my thoughts.”  
Seamus looked over at him again. He recognized the same sadness in Krel’s face from before, he wondered what the other was thinking about. He turned back to admired the stars rotating around them ever so slowly yet much faster than their real versions.  
“It wasn’t home to me.” The Akiridion spoke again. The blonde turned to look at him again giving a questioning hum. “Akiridion 5,” Krel turned to face Seamus but didn’t meet his eyes. “It was more of a job than anything. An expectation that my sister and I would one day take care of after our parents retired or… passed away.” The prince carefully crossed his hands over his stomach. “I spent most of my time hidden away in my lab, even on coronation day -” a hollow laugh pushed from his throat “- I never spent time with any of my peers, they couldn’t match me nor could I stand them, Aja was constantly running away from her own duties. It’s not that I don’t care about my people, my planet, I do, I- I fought for them, fought to go home. Yet in the end…” Krel released a heavy sigh. “Here on Earth I actually have friends, something close to a family. That is why I stayed here.”

Seamus remained silent throughout the explanation and a bit afterwards. Then he nodded. “There is a saying, maybe you’ve heard it by now that ‘home is where the heart is.’” He offered a gentle smile.

Krel shook his head. “Akiridions have cores not hearts.”

The blonde rolled his eyes, a strange combination of a laugh and a groan left him. “Ugh, fine. Home is where you have the strongest bonds, I guess.” He gave the prince an exasperated look igniting laughter.

“This is fun.” Krel said between giggles, turning to look back at the stars.

“Yea.” Seamus agreed, readjusting himself in his own seat. “Should do this again.”

“I’d like that.”


End file.
